India pillar made of pure iron. Stainless iron pole - the mystery is not solved

The metal column in the courtyard of the Qutub Minar mosque is one of the most mysterious historical sights in India. It is often referred to as the eighth wonder of the world and calling card Delhi. The ancient Indians obviously possessed some secrets in the art of metallurgy. And evidence of this is the Delhi column, which has resisted rust for more than fifteen centuries...

Created by an unknown architect

The origin of the iron column is not precisely established. Some historians claim that it was cast in 895 BC. by order of Raja Dhava, the ruler of Delhi. Muslim chroniclers claim that it was brought from northern Muslim countries. There are versions that attribute the creation of the pillar to Emperor Chandragupta II or Raja Anangpal.

Some of the inscriptions made on the column with the help of incisors helped to unravel the "mystery of birth". The earliest of them is located at a height of two meters from the ground. Six lines in Sanskrit form a conditional rectangle, the length of which is 85 centimeters, the width is 27, and the height of the characters in the inscription is from 0.8 to 1.3 centimeters. Previously, the letters were filled with silver and, illuminated in the dark by the moon, glowed ...

The inscription is an epitaph to King Chandragupta II, who died in 413. The column, as the text says, was erected in memory of this king on a mountain called Vishnu's Foot and is dedicated to this god. The peculiarities of the alphabet and lettering indicate that the column was originally located in Allahabad, in eastern India.

Historians had only to find a mountain called Vishnu's Foot. And she was discovered. It turns out that the column once stood in front of the Vishnu temple and was decorated on top with the image of the sacred bird Garuda. Other similar columns have been found in the area, but they were made of stone, not iron. But why doesn't this iron post rust?

Can't be!

Disbelief in the possibility of ancient civilizations leads to the birth of cosmic theories of the origin of earthly miracles. iron column in the vicinity of Delhi did not escape a similar fate. It does not rust, it has been standing like new for one and a half thousand years. Can't be!

This means that the pillar is made from the remains of an alien ship, and as you know, everything that is in any way connected with it does not automatically require further evidence.

Another version says that the column was forged, although on Earth, but nevertheless from a celestial alien - an iron meteorite, which, as you know, practically does not corrode under normal conditions.

There were those who seriously argue about a miniature nuclear reactor hidden inside the artifact, which supposedly protects the column from rust. They also say that the column has medicinal properties: it is worth hugging her, and you will be happy and healed from all diseases. True, skeptics joke that if this column had been brought to Russia, one more alien property would have been discovered. If in a frost of minus 40 ° a naked Indian hugs her, and even licks a stainless surface, then she will draw him to her and will not let go for a very long time. Moreover, this artifact would hardly have taken root in our latitudes. What does not rust does not require restoration. And if so, then the expense item “on the preservation of a masterpiece” will not be able to be cut.

There are a dozen of the most fantastic versions of the emergence of the Delhi pillar, but if you go down to sinful earth, then anyone unusual phenomenon one can find a perfectly earthly explanation.

Forgotten technologies

To do this, you will have to turn to history and see what India was like one and a half thousand years ago in the era of the Guptas. The Indians of those times knew many metals. They knew how to gild and silver jewelry, to make alloys of precious metals. In addition to gold and silver, they knew iron, copper, lead, tin and the hitherto undeciphered metal called vaikrinta. In the oldest written monuments of India - the Vedas - bronze is mentioned, and iron, judging by recent archaeological excavations, was known as early as the 10th century BC.

The smelting of iron is mentioned in the Brahmins - sacred books dating back to about the 9th-6th centuries BC. Thus, by the time of the construction of the column, metallurgy in India had a glorious history, and iron had become so common that it was used to make plows. It's just that the vast majority of products of ancient Indian metallurgy have not survived to this day: they were destroyed by corrosion - the mortal enemy of metals.

A well-known Indian scientist, the author of many works on prehistoric metallurgy in India, Subbarayarra suggested that the column was made in southern India about a thousand years BC. Even then, Indian masters comprehended the secrets of smelting pure iron which was valued more than gold and precious stones. The scientist bases his conclusion on metal household items found by archaeologists in these places with an iron content of up to 95 percent. In favor of his assumption is the fact that another metal column was found in the country, large sizes than the famous Delhi. It is also cast from almost pure iron. In addition, the beams of the metal ceilings of the ancient Hindu temples of Konark and Puri in the state of Orissa are made of 99 percent iron.

It is no coincidence that in those distant times, India was famous all over the world for its iron and steel products, and the Persians even had a saying: “To carry steel to India”, which is similar in meaning to the Russian proverb: “Go to Tula with your samovar”.

At the end of the last century, metallurgists also became interested in the column. Since then, many analyzes of her have been carried out; their results are not classified, but, alas, few people know. Historians do not read articles on metallurgy, and metallurgists prefer not to interfere in the disputes of historians.

It was possible to establish that the column was made not of iron, but of low-carbon steel, "very pure in sulfur and impermissibly contaminated in phosphorus", with the same carbon content as in very popular modern steel - 15 (high-strength high-alloy steel with increased corrosion resistance ). In addition, the column was not solid. Lumps of iron weighing 20-30 kg were welded together by forging: hammer blows and welding lines were preserved on the column.

And finally, the fact that the artifact is not subject to corrosion is a myth. Not without reason, in the 1960s of the XX century, the pillar was cleaned. It is unlikely that only bird droppings were washed from him.

A Swedish metallurgist thought of doing a simple study. He dug up the ground at the foot of the column and looked at that part of it that is not visible to historians and ufologists. The underground part was covered with a centimeter layer of rust with corrosive ulcers up to ten centimeters deep.

The same Swede sawed off several pieces from the column and took one of them to the ocean coast, the other to Sweden. Samples rusted at an enviable rate. It turned out that the dry and warm climate of Northern India helped the creators of the legend. Studies on the corrosion of metals, conducted recently in various parts of the Earth, showed that Delhi is in second place in the world after Khartoum in terms of the passivity of the atmosphere. Even unstable zinc in Delhi hardly oxidizes.

A number of hypotheses suggest that the ancient metallurgists, wittingly or unwittingly, created a special protective film. In particular, it is assumed that during the manufacture of the column, it was treated with superheated steam, and thus the steel was blued. There is a version that when smelting "by eye", as happened in antiquity, very large deviations in the quality of the metal are possible.

One of these exceptions could be a column. Moreover, it is not unique. The iron beams of ten meters in length with a diameter of twenty centimeters, which were used in the construction of the temple in Konarok, also did not succumb to corrosion.

Kutubov column:

Installed in the 9th century BC;

Height - 7.21 m;

Weight - 6.5 tons;

Lower diameter - 0.485 m:

Upper diameter -0.223 m.

Shot at a masterpiece

The iron column is so firmly planted in the ground that the cannonball launched into it by the conqueror Nadir Shah in 1739 could neither knock down nor even damage it, only leaving a small depression on the even and smooth surface of the column.

Considering that cannonballs on average weighed from a kilogram to 18 kg, a large cannon would hardly have been rolled in for this experiment - they were most likely fired from some kind of infantry. The weight of the projectile was approximately 9 kg, and the weight of the column was 6 tons. Therefore, the maximum that the core could make was a small dent. There is nothing surprising in this fact.

In India, not far from Delhi, in the town of Shimaikhalori, there is a huge iron column. Its height is 6.7 meters, diameter is 1.37 meters. At the top, the pillar is decorated with ancient ornaments and looks like a column. ancient temple. Perhaps this pillar was erected several millennia ago. The most amazing thing is that it is not subject to corrosion and destruction at all. In 1739, a cannonball was fired at it, which did not cause the slightest harm to the pillar.

How did the ancient masters manage to create chemically pure iron, how did they manage to cast a metal column 7 meters high and girth thick? Science cannot explain it. Some scholars consider the Iron Pillar to be evidence of the existence of a long-vanished ancient civilization, others believe that it was left in memory of a visit to Earth by aliens. Renting a road roller may detract a little from the topic, but it will help to carry out road work at the lowest financial cost.

The famous Kutubov column on the altar of the Kuvwat-ul-Islam mosque in the fortified city of Lal-Kot, not far from Delhi, perhaps even today remains one of the many iconic engineering creations of ancient civilizations that keep the secret of the Great Knowledge of antiquity, attracting more and more new researchers. There are many hypotheses about the origin of the column, many argue that the stainless column is never made of meteoric iron, and some are sure that this is the work of the aliens themselves!

Standing under open sky the legendary iron column with a diameter of 0.485 meters reaches a height of more than 7 meters and weighs about 6 tons. The inscription on the pillar says that it was brought and placed on this site during the reign of Samandragunta, who lived from 330 to 380 AD. The encyclopedic dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron says: “... the iron column of Raja Dhava (beginning of the 4th century AD) was erected in memory of the victory over the peoples Central Asia, as the Sanskrit inscription located here says. For a period of more than 1600 years, rare iron products have survived to this day. There are no traces of rust on the visible surface of the column. Until recently, it was believed that if the column, washed by rain and dew, does not rust, then it is made of pure iron. No other explanations were found.

The glory of this column was also added by legends about its magical healing properties, relieving people from a number of diseases. It is believed that it is enough for a patient who has arrived here on crutches to stand, hugging a column, for 20-30 minutes to recover.

Scientists have conducted a number of studies of the iron column in Delhi. For example, British specialists took small pieces of metal as samples for physical and chemical analysis in London. Upon arrival in London, it turned out that the samples were covered with rust. Soon, the Swedish materials scientist I. Wranglen and his colleagues discovered a zone of severe corrosion on the lower part of the column. It turned out that in the area of ​​​​the foundation it rusted to a depth of 16 millimeters along the entire diameter. faith in pure stainless iron was undermined, but there were other questions. Why, for example, does the column not rust higher from the foundation, and also how to explain its healing power?

Many years of efforts by Russian researchers revealed a number of previously unknown features of this building. For example, it turned out that the foundation of the column is made in the form of a two-sided pyramid (rhombus), it forms a vertical energy flow invisible to the ordinary eye, resembling a candle flame about 8 meters high and more than 2 meters in diameter.

Similar energy fields are observed above the tops of the pyramids and other places of worship, for example Orthodox churches, made in the form of pyramids, raised above the ground. Above their central bulbous dome, the iron crosses are also immune to corrosion if properly placed in the energy field.

The conducted studies show that inside the column at a height of about 3 meters from the ground there is additional source energy field radiation, made in the form of a small compressed rectangular package of thin sheets of an unknown radioactive metal. The radiation source is inserted into the column through a drilled and then plugged hole. Perhaps there is a message for posterity. New studies of the column may reveal additional interesting findings.

It can be assumed that the energy field shell of the iron column is a reliable protection against corrosion. The reason for the appearance of rust on the column in the area of ​​​​embedding it in the foundation can be a water film from rain and dew formed on the horizontal surface of the foundation, which goes beyond the energy case.

As for the miracle of healing the sick, the main role here is played by the vertical flow of the energy field, which has a beneficial effect on the human energy, normalizes the work of the whole organism. A person receives a powerful additional energy supply, being completely in the arms of the energy field of the column. Recall that modern medicine affects magnetic, electric and other energy fields only on certain parts of the human body, without restoring the deformed energy shell of a person as a whole.

The version of the creation of the iron column is also curious. More than 12 thousand years ago, a large iron meteorite fell to the west of Bombay, the remains of which are still there on the shelf of the sea. During the heyday of the Atlantean and Indian civilizations, local craftsmen created three identical iron columns by crystallizing meteorite fragments. By the same method in underground caves other ritual items were also made. There, archaeologists in our time find many finished and unfinished products made of crystallized iron.

The special shape and design of the foundation containing energy flow stimulators (crystals, amber, rare earth and radioactive elements), as well as the design of the iron column itself, allowed the ancient masters to create an energy field flow around the column, which can be conditionally called the “Space Communication Channel” (energy antenna).

Similar ritual columns (pillars) made of stone, wood or metal in the area of ​​places of worship are found on all continents of the planet. They vary in size and complexity of manufacture. Some reached 20 meters in height ( pillars of Hercules), others are only a few meters. For example, in Northern Bukovina, at the Rzhavinsky sanctuary (VIII-X centuries AD), a tetrahedral stone pillar more than 2 meters high was found, tapering upwards, without inscriptions and images. He stood in the center of the sanctuary, symbolizing the "World Axis", around which the Sun mysteriously and symbolically rotated in the process of ritual actions. In fact, such pillars (columns) fulfilled their functional, and not symbolic purpose. The priests had the knowledge of using and transforming weak earthly energy flows. In a word, the stone pillar played the same role here as the iron pillar in Delhi.

Nowadays, such stone pillars can be seen in French Brittany (giant menhirs), in England (carved cross from Gosford), in the Crimea, the Caucasus, Africa, Central America.

When visiting the Qutub Minar, I was most interested in the iron pillar, which has its own significant remarkableness among others historical monuments Delhi.

The column is located near the Qutub Minar itself, literally a couple of tens of meters near the tower.

According to the Hindu belief, this column can cure many diseases and give happiness to a person if you wrap your back around the pillar. In view of more wishing the post was surrounded by a fence and put to look after her guard.

The inscription on the column says that it was brought and placed here about 1600 years ago. During the period of its existence, the column has practically not undergone corrosion, with the exception of some plaque at the base of the column. The column consists of 99.7% iron with an insignificant content of phosphorus, carbon and sulfur impurities.

The column rises 7 meters above the ground, has a diameter of 0.485 m and a mass of 6 tons.

The origin of the column carries innuendo and ambiguity. How could an Indian civilization with a low technological level of development pay solid post with almost 100% pure iron content.

Some argue that the column was smelted by the pre-civilization of the Aryans (i.e., the late Atlanteans in conjunction with the early Aryans), from an iron meteorite that fell to the west of Bombay more than 12 thousand years ago. Some argue that there could not have been without aliens.

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Scientists have conducted a number of studies of the iron column in Delhi. For example, British specialists took small pieces of metal as samples for physical and chemical analysis in London. Upon arrival in London, it turned out that the samples were covered with rust. Soon, the Swedish materials scientist I. Wranglen and his colleagues discovered a zone of severe corrosion on the lower part of the column. It turned out that in the area of ​​​​the foundation it rusted to a depth of 16 millimeters along the entire diameter. Faith in pure stainless iron was undermined, but other questions remained. Why, for example, does the column not rust higher from the foundation, and also how to explain its healing power?

Many years of efforts by Russian researchers revealed a number of previously unknown features of this building. For example, it turned out that the foundation of the column is made in the form of a two-sided pyramid (rhombus), it forms a vertical energy flow invisible to the ordinary eye, resembling a candle flame about 8 meters high and more than 2 meters in diameter.

Similar energy fields are observed above the tops of the pyramids and other places of worship, such as Orthodox churches, made in the form of pyramids, raised above the ground. Above their central bulbous dome, the iron crosses are also immune to corrosion if properly placed in the energy field.

The conducted studies show that inside the column at a height of about 3 meters from the ground there is an additional source of energy field radiation, made in the form of a small compressed rectangular package of thin sheets of unknown radioactive metal. The radiation source is inserted into the column through a drilled and then plugged hole. Perhaps there is a message for posterity. New studies of the column may reveal additional interesting findings.

It can be assumed that the energy field shell of the iron column is a reliable protection against corrosion. The reason for the appearance of rust on the column in the area of ​​​​embedding it in the foundation can be a water film from rain and dew formed on the horizontal surface of the foundation, which goes beyond the energy case.

As for the miracle of healing the sick, the main role here is played by the vertical flow of the energy field, which has a beneficial effect on the human energy, normalizes the work of the whole organism. A person receives a powerful additional energy supply, being completely in the arms of the energy field of the column. Recall that modern medicine affects magnetic, electric and other energy fields only on certain parts of the human body, without restoring the deformed energy shell of a person as a whole.

The version of the creation of the iron column is also curious. More than 12 thousand years ago, a large iron meteorite fell to the west of Bombay, the remains of which are still there on the shelf of the sea. During the heyday of the Atlantean and Indian civilizations, local craftsmen created three identical iron columns by crystallizing meteorite fragments. Other ritual items were made in the underground caves using the same method. There, archaeologists in our time find many finished and unfinished products made of crystallized iron.

The special shape and design of the foundation containing energy flow stimulators (crystals, amber, rare earth and radioactive elements), as well as the design of the iron column itself, allowed the ancient masters to create an energy field flow around the column, which can be conditionally called the “Space Communication Channel” (energy antenna).

iron column located in the Qutb complex in Delhi, India. This nondescript seven-meter column has gained the widest fame due to the fact that it is made of metal that has not rusted for more than one and a half thousand years.

The iron column was cast around 402 AD under the ruler of the Gupta dynasty, Chandragupta II Vikramaditya (375 - 413), but its original location has not yet been determined. It is most likely that she was in the caves of Udayagiri(near the modern village of Sanchi), located in the Vidisha district of Madhya Pradesh, which is indirectly confirmed by the inscriptions on the pillar, ancient local traditions iron processing, as well as the fact that the second Sultan of Delhi (1211 - 1236), Shams ad-Din Iltutmish, attacked this district and could capture it as a trophy. In any case, at the beginning of the 13th century, this small column was erected a few dozen meters from the 72-meter one, probably to symbolize the superiority of Islam over Hinduism.

Complete iron column height is 7.21 meters, 1.12 meters of which is underground. The weight of the decorative capital is 646.14 kg, the rest - 5865.69 kg, in total - 6511.83 kg. At the very bottom, underground, the diameter of the column is 420 mm, at the very top - 306 mm.

decorative capital is a symmetrical structure of seven parts, which are interconnected by lead-based soldering around a hollow cylinder. On the uppermost part, which resembles a pedestal, a figurine of Garuda, the mount of Vishnu, was probably once fixed. A decorative capital is attached to the main part of the column, made by forge welding, using an insert.

Because of his extraordinary resistance to rust, the iron column in Delhi has long attracted the attention of archaeologists, corrosion specialists and engineers. Its very first real scientific study was conducted in 1912 by Robert Hatfield. Then, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, a group of archaeologists and engineers excavated the underground part of the column. They found that its surface was covered with a centimeter layer of rust. At a level above the ground, only minor traces of it are still found on the column.

Why doesn't the Delhi Iron Pillar rust?

There are many theories, but they can all be divided into two categories: Related environment and material related.

Environment:
- Delhi has a very mild climate and for long periods of time the air humidity here does not exceed 70% (soil moisture is higher, so the entire column has rusted underground).

Fancy Material:
- the column was made of iron, unusually pure for its time (98%), which includes very little sulfur (0.006%) and a lot of phosphorus (0.114%), which led to the self-formation of a protective oxide film with a thickness of 50 to 150 nm.

- a large mass of solid dark metal heats up and retains heat for some time, which does not allow dew to form on its surface

The protective film seems to be the most likely theory, because in other, wetter regions, artifacts created by Indian metallurgists can also be found, such as an irregularly shaped column in the Dhar district, iron beams in the Temple of the Sun in the city of Konarak and an iron column in the temple Mukambika.

Inscriptions on the Iron Column

Despite the easy accessibility and wide popularity of the Iron Column, the inscriptions on it have not yet been studied well enough. The oldest inscription dated to the reign of the Gupta dynasty (4th-6th centuries). It is made in Sanskrit by an ancient variation of the Brahmi syllabary (read from left to right). It says that the column was created in honor of the god Vishnu. It also praises the courage and other qualities of the ruler, who is simply called Chandra (now it is believed that these lines refer to Chandragupta II).

Five lines of verse, which is located on the visible place columns (1903 interpretation by Pandit Banke Rai):

(1) He, the glory of whose strength was written with a sword, when in a battle in the Wang countries ( Bengal) he demolished and drew ( on the run) with his chest of enemies who, having united, went against him;

(2) He who fought crossed the seven mouths rivers) Sindhu ( indus), conquered the Vahliks; he whose perfection still perfumes the southern ocean;

(3) He, whose particles of enormous energy blaze, which completely destroyed ( his) enemies, like a burnt out fire in a huge forest, even now does not leave the earth;

(4) Although he, the king, as if tired, left this land and went to another world, moving from the land conquered ( his) actions, ( But) remaining on ( this) Earth in ( memory of him) glory;

(5) He, the king, who has achieved the exclusive supreme power in the world, obtained by his own efforts and ( which he enjoyed) for a long time; ( And) who, called Chandra, embodied the beauty of sympathy as ( beauty) full moon, believing in ( god) Vishnu, this majestic pillar of the divine Vishnu was installed on the hill of Vishnupad.

In another later inscription, dating back to 1052, the ruler Anangpal II of the Tomara clan is mentioned, which made it possible to discuss the version of the establishment of the column on its modern place under Vigraha Raja, which was later refuted.

It's interesting that Udayagiri caves, which are located on the Tropic of Cancer, during the Gupta dynasty were center for the study of astronomy. There is a theory that the Iron Pillar standing there in front of a large image of Anantashayana (the incarnation of Vishnu, symbolizing infinity) was sundial. So, her Chakra, or Garuda, cast a shadow at the feet of Vishnu only once a year - early in the morning during the summer solstice (June 21).

The column demonstrated extraordinary stability in 1739, when she was hit by a cannonball, launched by the commander Nadir Shah Afshar during the three-day conquest of Delhi. Of course, it could not break the column, which carried almost 6 tons, but it left a noticeable mark on it, which rusted.

In 1997 the iron column surrounded by a low fence to prevent the destruction of the protective layer by crowds of people who believe that if you stand with your back to the column and clasp your hands around it, you can attract good luck and be cured of diseases.

Useful information about the Iron Pillar in Delhi, India

Location:

Southeast New Delhi; 40 meters northwest of Qutb minaret

How to get there:

Buses 34, 413, 427, 463, 463EXT, 502, 505, 517, 523, 525EXT, 533. 534. 539, 629 or 714 to the stop "Qutub Minar"
Saket metro station (yellow line), from which you need to walk about 700 meters to the Qutub complex along Mehrauli Badarpur road

Close to huge Indian city Delhi is located architectural complex Qutub Minar. It's usually crowded with tourists and local residents. Many come here to admire the tallest brick minaret in the world.

But most are attracted by a thousand-year-old mystery, over which scientists are still struggling. In the depths of Qutub Minar, among the ancient buildings, stands alone, darkened by time. metal column. A normal iron structure would have crumbled with rust long ago, but this ancient pillar has been resisting the influence of time for 1,600 years!

People call the iron pillar Kutub column, and today it is considered the most famous landmark of Delhi. The all-metal rod reaches a height of seven meters, of which almost one and a half are hidden underground. Weighs ancient monument six and a half tons!

A decent amount is carved on the column inscriptions, some of which are as old as she is. Some of these engravings have not really been studied so far, despite the fact that mysterious pillar available for viewing by everyone.

The oldest deciphered inscription speaks of the deeds of the warlike Indian king Chandragupta II, who lived between the 4th and 5th centuries.

In those days, whole forged iron monument of this size spoke of the power and wealth of the state that created it.

An expensive pillar was created for the nearby sanctuary of Vishnu and for a long time served as a perch for the statue of the sacred bird Garuda. But after 600 years, when the Sultan reigned in Delhi, the temple was destroyed, and the column was transported to the city.

Englishman Alexander Cunningham who explored Indian antiquities in XIX century, the column seemed three times higher and heavier than it really is.

In addition, the man wrote that the pillar was cast from a single piece of iron. Many reputable sources are still guided by Cunningham's description!

In fact, researchers have long debunked most of the myths surrounding the column. meteoric iron or stainless steel was not found in the column.

The version claiming that the column consists of "chemically pure" iron was also recognized as untenable. Researchers say: most likely the mysterious pillar is so well preserved due to a unique set of circumstances!

Scientists say: the thing is that on the surface of the column there is oxide film preventing the formation of corrosion. The low humidity in Delhi also plays a role.

In addition, the huge mass of the column allows it to retain heat well. It is thanks to this that dew does not form on the surface of the metal monument.

All this, it must be said, does not apply to underground part columns. There, the metal pillar is already heavily corroded by rust, the layer of which in some places reaches a centimeter thickness.

And in 1997, due to the influx of tourists, the Delhi authorities were forced to build a fence around the column. According to popular belief, a person who stands with his back to the pole and wraps his arms around it will receive a charge of good luck and happiness. But people doing this way unwittingly harm the same protective film!

The researchers found that the column is protected by an oxide film, but where did she come from- question. It is said that the ancient blacksmiths created it by accident, having made serious deviations in the quality of the metal.

Others think that the steam treatment of the newly created column played a role. Some people even think that the pole is part of places of worship, just too often rubbed with incense and oils. The exact answer is still unknown.

Today, queues of tourists, scientists and superstitious locals are still lining up at the Kutubova Column. And in Lately ufologists frequented here, immediately declaring the iron pole a gift from